Text taken from the Illustrated Encylopedia of Aircraft Vol 12 pages 2741 to 2744 The History of Aviation - The Spanish Civil War As no other event during the inter-war period, the Spanish Civil War of 1936-9 served unequivocally to lay bare the international political alignments in Europe, alignments that were to be backed by the massive supply of military equipment and personnel from the major powers, and to a lesser extent from others, despite lip service paid to a non-intervention committee whose agreement was overtly supported by all the major powers and flagrantly violated by Germany, Italy, the USSR and France. However whereas France discontinued the supply of military aircraft relatively early in the conflict (and therefore failed to appreciate the lamentable standard of its in service equipment, with disastrous results in 1940) the other three major powers all gained priceless experience in modern tactical concepts and were able to pursue accelerated technological advance with first-hand operational knowledge. Following the assassination of ihe right-wing leader, Calvo Sotello, on 13 July 1936, military garrisons in Spain and Morocco rose in revolt under the control of right-wing Nationalist factions. At once sensing that the potential Socialist manpower would be capable of crushing the forces of these Fascists the extreme right-wing German and Italian dictatorships authorized the assembly of volunteer personnel and despatched them together with transport aircraft (Junkers Ju 52/3ms from Germany and Savoia-Marchetti 5M.81s from Italy) to assist the Nationalists under General Francisco Franco y Bahamonde. The transports' first task, already begun by a small number of Douglas DC-2s and Fokker F.VIIs, was to airlift some 10,000 troops of the Army of Africa from Morocco to southern Spain to assist the Nationalist sweep through Andalusia and Estremadura. At the beginning of the civil war Spain's air force, then about to embark on modernization fielded some 40 Nieuport-Delage ND 52 fighters 60 Breguet Bre.l9 biplane bombers, 20 Vickers Vildebeest torpedo-bombers and a score of other miscellaneous aircraft, including three brand-new Hawker Fury biplanes from the UK. Many of the air force personnel elected to join the Nationalists and so it was that during the first 10 days Taniente Miguel Guerrero Garcia shot down half a dozen Republican aircraft, to become the war's first fighter ace. August saw the arrival in Spain of the first German and Italian fighters, six Heinkel He 51s and a dozen Fiat CR.32s, as well as further Ju 52/3ms and 5M.81s. The last were first in action on 5 August when they attacked a Republican-crewed cruiser which was threatening the seaborne movement of Nationalist forces from Africa. The Republicans, themselves well aware of the obsolescence of their air force, were quick to enlist the support of anti-Fascist nations, among which the Soviet Union was traditionally the frontrunner, although the Stalinist hierarchy displayed unwanted capitalist traits in demanding immediate payment in gold for all ideological and material support. France, with less concern for her non-intervention agreement than her discomfort at the likelihood of becoming almost wholly surrounded by de facto Fascist nations, responded promptly by sending 50 Potez 54 bombers, 46 Dewoitine D.371s, D.372s, D.501s and D.510s, 27 Bleriot-Spad 5.510s and five Loire-Nieuport LN.46s. In September the Nationalists received a second squadriglia of CR.32s, flown by Italian volunteers, as well as nine moreHe 51s and 20 He 46s. By October Franco's forces were poised for a drive at Madrid and, had it not been for the timely arrival of the first tanks, guns and aircraft from the Soviet Union, it would probably have succeeded and the war would have ended there and then. As it was, the appearance of the first Tupolev SB-2 twin-engine bombers redressed the balance in the air, these aircraft being able to outperform the Nationalist fighters. In the following month the first Polikarpov I-15 biplane fighters reached Spain, followed quickly by Polikarpov I-16 monoplane fighters, and these gained a degree of air superiority for the Republicans over the Madrid front, and by the end of the year the Nationalist offensive had ground to a virtual halt. Recognizing that the war in Spain would be protracted, the Germans in November had embarked on a formal process of organizing their volunteer forces, creating the Legion Condor under the command of General Hugo Sperrle with three Staffeln of fighters, three of bomber-transports, one of reconnaissance aircraft and one of coastal seaplanes (He 59s). A system of personnel rotation between Germany and Spain was covertly organized as part of the Nazi-inspired Kraft durch Freude (`Strength Through Joy') tourist programme, the cruise liners often sailing to Spain under flags of convenience to avoid naval interception. The Italians also stepped up their supply of aircraft, handing over a complete escuadrilla of CR.32s to the Spaniards, and at the same time creating an autonomous Aviazione Legionaria out of the Aviazione del Tercio with three CR.32 squadriglie, two of 5M.81s and one of Meridionali Ro 37bis reconnaissance bombers, all staffed by Italian volunteers. In December the first few Henschel Hs 123 dive-bombers arrived from Germany, together with a single He 112 and a Bf109 for operational evaluation. With stalemate now threatening on central front, the Nationalists launched attack in February 1937 aimed at isolating Madrid from Valencia. It was at this stage of the war that both sidea committed their air arms fully, and heavy fighting involved large numbers of I-15s, I-16s and SB-2s, just as the Legion Condor was receiving Heinkel He 111B and 15 Dornier Do 17F bombers, and the Italians moved two gruppi of the new Savoia-Marchetti 5M.79 bombers to the Balearic Islands. Attack on BilbaoThe Nationalist attack was held and, after a Republican counterattack served to stabilize the front, Franco switched his main strength to the north where he launched offensive towards Bilbao at the end of March. This evidently took the Republican command by surprise for air opposition by fewer than 100 aircraft was largely overcome by the powerful new German equipment; as the modern Italian 5M.79s began their raids over north eastern Spain, the older, slower Ju 52/3ms were confined to almost unopposed night attacks. The attack on Bilbao coincided with the delivery to the Legion Condor of 45 Bf 109Bs, followed soon afterwards by the arrival in Spain of no fewer than six further squadriglie of CR.32 fighters as well as a small number of Breda Ba 65 close-support aircraft. The Nationalists also received a windfall at this time when 52 Czech Aero A.101 reconnaissance bombers, en route by sea to the Republicans, were intercepted, captured and put into service against their intended customers. It was also during the latter stages of the northern offensive that a small township suddenly featured in world headlines when on 26 April aircraft of the Legion Condor attacked the fortified town of Guernica, causing many civilian casualties and considerable damage. Largely on account of the loss of life among the Basque population whose sympathy was vital to Republican aspirations in the north, the Socialist propagandists successfully seized upon this attack to emphasize the cynical and ruthless nature of the Fascist attack to win worldwide sympathy for their cause; it was never found convenient to explain that Guernica did constitute a defended communications junction (albeit of minor importance) and the Nationalists possessed no equivalent propaganda agency with which to point to the fact that the Republican forces were no less guilty of such brutal lapses. Such are the dismal trademarks of civil war. In an effort to relieve the pressure in the north, the Republicans launched three offensives elsewhere, and in an attack towards Segovia succeeded in penetrating the Nationalist front. Not to be diverted, the Nationalists continued to press forward towards Bilbao, that city falling on 19 June. A fortnight later a further Republican attack also gained initial success, but this time the Nationalists were able to bring their air force into effective use and, employing the Hs 123 dive-bombers to good effect as well as strafing the enemy forces with fighters, managed to halt the offensive. By now the Republicans fully realized that non-intervention was being more ardently observed by erstwhile anti-Fascist nations than by Germany and Italy, and that the price of obtaining military assistance from the Soviet Union was high Accordingly, despite a continuing flow of I-15 and I-16 (and the improved I-152 and I-16 Type 10) fighters, plans were now well advanced for the licence-production in Spain of these aircraft. Moreover, while many of the foreign volunteers were beginning to return home, disillusioned by the character of the war, the Soviet Union seized the opportunity to train Spanish pilots in the USSR, preferring to inculcate its own revolutionary theories which differed subtly from those prevalent in Spain. Thus by the end of the summer of 1937 the Republicans, with 470 aircraft, enjoyed a numerical superiority in the air, thanks largely to the Soviet fighters and SB-2 bombers, as well as some Letov S 231s and Grumman FF-1 reconnaissance fighters. Opposing them were some 350 aircraft flown by the Nationalists and their co-belligerent supporters.
In the north the Nationalists captured Santander on 22 August, and thereafter the northern front collapsed, allowing Franco (by now undisputed Nationalist leader) to concentrate his land and air forces on the main, central front. Henceforth, with eventual defeat of the Republicans becoming a foregone conclusion, the war theatre assumed more and more a laboratory status for German and Italian war material. As further 5M.79s arrived from Italy, as well as some Fiat BR.2O bombers sent for operational evaluation, the Germans sent the first three Ju 87 dive-bombers to the Legion Condor, while further arrivals by Bf 109Bs allowed the handover of a dozen He 51s to the Spaniards at the end of 1937. Early in 1938 the German pilot, Oberleutnant Wilhelm Balthasar, Stafjelfuhrer of 2.Jagdstaffel, Legion Condor, shot down four SB-2 bombers in a single day while flying a Bf 109B. Two months later the Bf 109C arrived to re-equip the Legion's last remaining He 51 Jagdstaffel, the older aircraft being passed to the Spaniards. Joining the He 111Bs, delivered the previous year, two Staffeln of He 111Cs arrived in February, and on 8 March these raided Republican naval bases, severely damaging the battleship Jaime 1. Nationalist PressureThe final year of the war was one of relentless pressure by the Nationalists. Greatly encouraged by their victory in the north, their troops advanced towards the Mediterranean coast between Barcelona and Valencia, all the while receiving powerful support from the air by the He 51s, Hs 123s, Ro 37bis and Ju 87As with bombing and strafing attacks. On 15 April 1938 they reached the sea, thereby isolating the Republican armies in the south. Nevertheless the Republicans continued to fight fiercely, launching offensives at Merida and on the Ebro river in July; some ground was recovered, but counterattacks by the Nationalists, again well supported from the air, succeeded in halting the incursions. There was heavy air fighting over the River Zujar front in August, just as the Soviet pilots started packing their bags for the journey home, and over the main front Oberleutnant Wolfgang Schellmann reached a score of 12 victories in his Bf 109C. Ju 87Bs and Arado Ar 95s joined the Legion Condor before the end of the year, and by early January 1939 the Nationalists were driving forward towards Barcelona, that city falling on 25 January. The Germans and Italians now sent their final reinforcements to Spain: 40 cannon-armed Bf 109Es and six Hs 126s for the Legion Condor, 17 He 112B fighters for the Spaniards themselves, and a dozen Fiat G.50 fighters for the Aviazione Legionaria. On 19 January the highest scoring Nationalist pilot, Commandante Garcia Morato, claimed his 40th and final victory (Molders, with 14 victories, was the highest-scoring German). A final advance on Madrid penetrated to the centre of the city on 27 March, and the next day the war ended. The Spanish Civil War, for all its bloody fratricidal character, served the nation no more than to replace a discredited Socialist administration with an authoritarian dictatorship, as well as totally debilitating an already destitute economy for 40 years. Chief beneficiary was the German Luftwaffe which, created from a near military vacuum only two years before the war's outbreak, had had no previous operational experience on which to base its tactics and operational requirements. The war of movement, forced by circumstances on the Nationalist armies, provided just the conditions for which the Luftwaffe was conceived and, whether it was in the movement of large forces by Ju 52/3m, or in operations by its He llls and Do 17s, or in ground support by the Ju 87 and Hs 123 dive-bombers, or in air combat by the superb Bf 109 fighters, all facets of what was soon to be known as Blitzkrieg were given thorough rehearsal. Just five months later Guernica would be no more than a name in history, its place taken by Warsaw as a victim of German bombers.
